Slytherin and Griffindor A love Story
by Griffindor Girl
Summary: Everyone finds the new girl Victoria Enticing, but none so much as Draco Malfoy. Will he stay true to anti-Griffindor prejudice, or fall in love with her courage and will when trouble comes to Hogwarts? And I've decided not to end it yet! PLEASE R/R asap!
1. The New Arrival

Slytherin and Griffindor - a Love Story Chapter 1: The New Arrival "A new girl? From Australia?"  
  
That was the only gossip going around Hogwarts on the 1st of September, 2003. It was the first day back at school, and the students had just been told about Victoria Dreanadia, a girl going into her fifth year who had moves from Australia to England because of her father's job. Questions such as, "What will she be like?" and "What house will she be in?" and "Does she play Quiddich?" were being tossed to and fro across all four house tables at dinner as the students anticipated her arrival.  
  
"I hope she's nice," said Hermione to Ron and Harry. "I'd like a girl best friend."  
  
"What, suddenly we're not good enough for you?" said Ron through a mouthful of fried chicken.  
  
"No, of course not! It's just that sometimes I'd like to talk about girlie stuff with someone close, you know what I mean."  
  
"Don't worry Hermione," said Harry, laughing. "We know how you feel."  
  
Hermione smiled thankfully.  
  
The only person in the Hall who seemed totally unruffled by the whole affair was Draco Malfoy. "So what if we have another kid at school?" he said. "I mean, what difference does it make? In fact, I'd rather she didn't come since she'll just be one more mud blood to dirty the place up. And yes, I know she's a mud blood because I found out that her father's a muggle QC, Crabbe," he said when Crabbe looked at him quizzically.  
  
It was in fact halfway through desert when the door banged open unexpectedly. Immediately there was complete silence. Professor McGonagall entered and said, "Students, allow me to present our new girl, Victoria Dreanadia." And then they saw her.  
  
The girl that walked down the aisle was tall, slim, and seemed incredibly strong. She had dark blonde hair, pale skin (which was a shock considering where she came from), a small mouth, and piercing sky-blue eyes that seemed to see past your body and into your soul. She was needless to say very pretty, but in a dangerous sort of way. There was something about Victoria that everyone found, for lack of a better word, enticing.  
  
"Now Victoria," said Professor McGogagall. "you must be sorted into your house. Come and sit here and I will palce the Sorting Hat on your head, and we shall see where you belong." Looking a little nervous, she sat.  
  
"Hmmm.you're a tricky one to place, young Victoria," said the Sorting Hat. "I see a cross between two houses, but which one to choose? Let me think.I know, GRIFFINDOR!!!"  
  
The traditional cheer went up from the Griffindor table, and Victoria sat down next to Hermione, who introduced her to Harry and Ron ("You're Harry Potter? Oh my goodness!") and soon engaged her in conversation. Conditions in the Great Hall went back to the usual noisy level, but one person stayed silent.  
  
Draco Malfoy was sitting in a kind of stupor, simply staring at Victoria. "What's up Draco?" said Pansy Parkinson across from him, fluttering her eyelashes.  
  
"What" Oh nothing.nothing, I'm fine," Malfoy stammered. But that girl, Victoria, sent shivers up and down his spine. "She's just a girl," he told himself sternly. "Besides, she's in Griffindor, so she's probably looks alone. But still, he could not help but wonder.  
  
Later in the Griffindor common room, everyone was having fun chatting to the new girl. "So Victoria," said Harry amiably. "How come you moved to England?"  
  
"Well, I'm muggle-born, and my dad's a QC, so every so often we have to live in England for a few weeks, but not in the school term of course. But this time he got a permanent job transfer, so we now are here to live," she answered.  
  
"What's it like in Australia?" asked Parvati Patil. "Is it really hot?"  
  
"Compared to here it is!" laughed Victoria. "I mean, it's just going into winter here, right? Well, when I got off the plane, I was so unclimatised that I started shivering uncontrollably, and I was wearing two jumpers and a parka!" Everyone laughed. And so the conversation continued like this for a time until everyone went to bed.  
  
The next day at breakfast, Draco watched Victoria's every move, from eating toast to having to clean up Neville's spilt pumpkin juice. Eventually she caught him staring at her, and she asked Harry who he was.  
  
"That Victoria, is Draco Malfoy," he said darkly. "You should steer clear of him, he's a total prat. He's incredibly stuck up, self-obsessed, mean, and he loves to bully people. Take Hermione for example. He hates her 'cause she's muggle-born, and always calls her a mud blood."  
  
"Gosh, thanks Harry, I'll stay away from him then. Do we have any classes with him?" Victoria said.  
  
"Yeah, a few," Harry replied. Potions is up first, he's with us then. The head of Slytherin, Professor Snape, is the potions master, so Malfoy's a real teacher's pet then. You'll see what he's like."  
  
* * *  
  
Professor Snape was in a foul mood.  
  
"You, Longbottom, ten points from Griffindor, you're late!"  
  
"No he's not professor. Potions starts at this time, but most of us got here early, that's all," said Hermione. Big mistake.  
  
"And twenty points from you Miss Granger for back-chatting!" Snape snarled. Hermione stayed silent.  
  
"Now class. Today we will be brewing up a sleeping potion. This is very very powerful, and if even one drop lands on your skin it will knock you out for about an hour. So I want no spillages," he said looking meaningfully at Neville Longbottom. "and I want you all to put on your dragon hide gloves for extra protection. Now, this must be done in pairs, and I will group you up. Potter, you are with Millicent Bulstrode, Miss Granger, go with Miss Parkinson, and our new girl, Miss Dreanadia, welcome, you are with Malfoy."  
  
"Watch yourself," whispered Ron to Victoria, who nodded.  
  
Draco's heart skipped a beat. He was to work with Victoria Dreanadia? This was just too good! "Be quiet!" snaped the Slytherin side of himself. "Looks alone, remember?" But still, when Victoria sat down beside him, he could not supress a shiver.  
  
"Hi," said Victoria.  
  
"Hi," said Malfoy back.  
  
The whole class listened carefully while Snape explained the potion to them. It was indeed extremely complex. Malfoy and Victoria brewed the potion in silence, with only the occasional, "Could you pass the lacewing flies?". They had only just finished when the bell rang.  
  
"You are, as a pair, to write an analysis of this potion including how you brewed it and what difficulties you encountered. It is due tomorrow. Now go!? Snape barked.  
  
"See you in the library after school then," muttered Draco to Victoria.  
  
"Yeah, see you," said Victoria, and they walked in opposite directions.  
  
"She's looks alone, remember?" murmered Malfoy to himself. "Looks alone." 


	2. An Unexpected Emotion

Chapter 2: An Unexpected Emotion

That afternoon in the library at 4 o'clock, Malfoy and Victoria met, sat down at a table far away from everyone else, and began their analysis. Draco longed for her to talk to him, and he longed to talk to her, but Victoria only spoke when it was necessary. After about an hour's work, Victoria said, "I was warned about you, Malfoy."

"In what way?" said Draco, putting down his quill.

"Well, just that you're not very nice, that's all."

"Potter and Weasley told you that, didn't they?" said Draco. 

Victoria nodded.

"Well, I suppose they have a right to. After all, we fight with each other, I insult them, I spread rumours about them, I even call Granger a mud blood from time to time," he admitted.

"But why?" asked Victoria.

"Because I don't like them," said Malfoy simply.

"So? Conflict never really solves anything does it? Besides, I'm muggle-born, and I don't see you calling me a mud blood."

"Yes, but you're different."

"You hardly know me."

"I'm aware of that, but I can just tell."

There was a moment's silence.

"You know," said Draco. "I'm not as bad as people make out.

"Really?" said Victoria. "Because from what I've heard, I'd say you are."

Draco sighed. "I hate having an image like that. I mean, I'm not nasty all the time, but I guess it just seems that way to most people."

"You're not being nasty now," said Victoria, smiling.

"Yes, well, I suppose I'm not," replied Draco, smiling back. The clock suddenly chimed nine.

"Whoa, it's getting late, and I'm getting tired," said Victoria, yawning.

"Tell you what," said Malfoy. "We've practically finished the analysis, how about I complete it now and you can go to bed, you really do look sleepy."

"Really, you'd do that? Oh, thanks Malfoy!" said Victoria, standing up. "I'll see you around okay?" She walked off, but not before giving his hand a squeeze. Malfoy sat, stunned. Had he just been considerate to a _Griffindor_?

* * *

When Victoria returned to the Griffindor common room, Ron was pacing back and forward, fuming, while Harry and Hermione listened wearily to his complaints.

"I can't believe that Snape put me with _Goyle_!" he yelled. "He must have done it on purpose, Goyle is so incredibly thick, and I know Snape wants me to get bad grades!"

"Well consider yourself lucky Ron," said Harry. "Remember who Victoria had to work with? Draco Malfoy!"

Ron immediately stopped pacing and gave Victoria a look of deepest sympathy. "Oh Victoria," he said. "You poor, poor thing. Did he give you a hard time?"

"Well, actually he wasn't that bad," said Victoria. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all stared blankly. "He was polite to me and everything," she continued, embarrassed. "and we ended up having quite a civilised conversation. And you'll never guess what he said when I told him I was tired."

"What did he say?" asked Hermione.

"He said that we'd practically finished the analysis, so he's complete it so I could go get some sleep."

There was a silence.

"Well, that's a first for Malfoy, I must say!" said Ron, astounded.

"Yeah, definitely a first!" agreed Harry. "Hey, look at the time, we'd better get to bed."

"Yes, I just remembered that I have an Arithmancy quiz tomorrow, I need some sleep!" exclaimed Hermione. "Come on Victoria, let's go. See you boys tomorrow, okay?"

"Uh huh," said Harry, yawning. "See you."

As the girls got ready for bed, Victoria said to Hermione, "Hey, you know Malfoy? Well, I caught him staring at me this morning at breakfast."

"In what way?" asked Hermione.

"Well in a sort of oh my gosh look at her kind of way. You don't think…?"

"Hmmm…" murmered Hermione. "Nah, I don't think he likes you. No offense or anything, but he's in Slytherin and you're in Griffindor, and you know them, they're naturally prejudiced!"

"Yeah, you're right," laughed Victoria. "I mean, as if!" But something in her mind made her unsure of Hermione's reasoning. "It was just the way he acted towards me today," she said to herself before she fell asleep. "But Hermione's probably right. He must have just been in a good mood." With that she turned off the light and wen to sleep.

Draco and Victoria got full marks for their potions analysis."Absolutely perfect," complimented Professor Snape. "Every answer is here and correctly written down, and it is very neatly presented. Malfoy and Miss Dreanadia, this work is a credit to you." Victoria grinned slightly, and Malfoy smirked at Harry who ignored him completely and concentrated on silently congratulating Victoria.

However, as they walked out of the classroom, Pansy Parkinson, who was jealous of all the attention Victoria was getting from Snape and Malfoy, bumped her book bag off her shoulder and onto the floor. All her inkbottles smashed and her books turned either black, blue, or scarlet. Hermione turned to rouse on Pansy. "Pansy Parkinson," she began, but Malfoy cut in.

"Perhaps it would be better for all of us Pansy if you apologised to Victoria, and stayed away from her if you get so jealous," said Malfoy icily.

"Sorry then," said Pansy to Victoria sarcastically, and flounced off haughtily. Then, to everyone's great surprise, Malfoy stooped mdown and helped Victoria pick up her books. The whole corridor went silent to watch them.

"Thankyou Malfoy," said Victoria when they had finished.

"Please, call me Draco," he said, and walked off with Crabbe and Goyle in tow.

"You know what Victoria?" said a dumbfounded Hermione. "You were right last night. He definitely does have the hots for you.

"Too right," said Harry and Ron together.

"Yeah, too right," repeated Victoria softly as they walked off to a History of Magic.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was more embarrassed than he had ever been in his life. For one thing, Pansy Parkinson was not speaking to him, which was no great loss really, but it was the action that bothered him. Crabbe and Goyle were acting even more stupidly than usual around him, and people in every house were giving him funny looks when they walked past him. And what was worse, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team said to him very loudly in the common room, "Hey Draco, how's your little Griffindor girlfriend going?" amid snorts of laughter.

But from that day forward, Malfoy and Victoria payed more attention to each other. They would say hello as they walked past on the way to classes, congratulate each other on good work, and Malfoy even stopped bullying Hermione when Victoria was around. All this was done very subtly of course, as it was bad for both of their reputations when people saw. They were also paired up for another assignment by Professor McGonagall, since Snape had told her how well they worked together.

"You know," said Draco when they were halfway throught their Transfiguration essay. " I really do enjoy working with you Victoria."

"Thankyou Draco, and I really enjoy working with you as well," she replied. When they had finished and were about to say goodbye, Malfoy did something he had never done to anyone outside his family. He kissed Victoria on the cheek. Just a quick peck, but as soon as he realised what he had done, he ran to his common room and slammed the door. Victoria was left standing at the library entrance, too shocked to move. When she did, she walked quickly and quietly to Griffindor tower, grabed Hermione and dragged her into a corner.

"What's up Victoria?" Hermione asked. "You look as if you've seen a ghost!"

"He…he kissed me Hermione. Draco Malfoy kissed me," was all Victoria could manage to stutter.

"WHAT?! Where?" Hermione hissed.

"Just on the cheek as we said goodbye. He seemed just as shocked as I was when he'd done it, 'cause he ran off faster than I've ever seen anyone run," she said.

"Do you want me to tell Harry and Ron?" asked Hermione.

"No! Leave them out of this, it'll just cause trouble," Victoria replied.

"Okay," said Hermione reluctantly. "But just be careful, alright?"

"Alright," said Victoria quietly. "I'll be careful." But the thought of him still haunted her as she lay in bed, unable to sleep. What was going on?

Of course Malfoy apologised to her the very next day. "Sorry about the thing in the library last night," he said quietly. "I got a bit carried away."

"That's fine," she replied, smiling. "No hard feelings." 


	3. The Fight on the Quidditch Pitch

Hey people! Here's the 3rd chapter of my story! Enjoy and R&R ASAP please!

Chapter 3: The Fight on the Quidditch Pitch

Quidditch season had started, and as usual the Griffindor captain, now Angelina Johnson, was training her team harder than ever. "Our first match is with Slytherin guys, and you know how good they are," she reminded them.

"Nothing we can't beat though Angie," said Fred Weasley, laughing.

"Don't get so cocky Fred, anything can happen," Angelina snapped. "And don't call me Angie!"

"Calm down Angelina, we'll all cooperate with you, won't we guys?" soothed Harry.

"Yeah, we will," said the team, and they flew onto the pitch. Little did they know that Victoria was watching them from the stands, completely in awe of their skill and talent.

On the day of the match at breakfast, emotions were running high, and Harry was feeling the usual butterflies in his stomach. Malfoy was also trying to psyche him out from his house table, which did not help.

"Calm down Harry," said Ron. "You've flattened the Slytherins every time, there's no reason why you can't do it again!"

"Yeah, thanks Ron," said Harry, smiling nervously.

Victoria was the one who took Harry down to the change room when the time came. "You'll be fine Harry," she said reassuringly. That was when it happened. Alicia Spinnet came running in late, tripped over her own feet and landed flat on her side, snapping her arm in three places.

Alicia shrieked with pain. Angelina ran to her, took one look at her arm and aid, "There's no way she can play with that injury."

"But we can't forfeit the game!" Harry shouted. "We'd be the laughing stock of the school! There's got to be someone else!"

"I can do it," Victoria said quietly from the door. "I've been watching you practice, so I know all the rules and tactics, I can fly, and I have a broom."

"Are you sure?" said Angelina. "And what kind of boom is it?"

"I'll get it for you," she said, and opened one of the broom lockers near the door. From there she pulled out a glistening Firebolt. "Will this one do?"

"Victoria, that's a Firebolt, the crème de la crème of brooms!" sais Harry. "Of course it will do!"

"Right," said Angelina, suddenly business like. "Victoria, get into Alicia's robes, we can't waste any more time!"

"And here we are at the first Quidditch game of the season!" came Lee Jordan's voice over the roaring of the crowd. "The Griffindor team is coming onto the pitch, al the usual players, but wait…is that _Victoria Dreanadia?!_"

When Victoria flew onto the pitch, the whole crowd, including the Slytherin team, gasped.

"What's she doing here? She won't be able to fly!" sneered Malfoy.

"Too right," said the Slytherin captain. "Easy win today, eh?" They all snickered.

The same statement was going around the crowd. She can't fly, easy win for Slytherin!

Harry flew close to Victoria and whispered, "You can do it Victoria, just believe in yourself!" With a steely glint in her eyes, she nodded.

Madam Hooch blew the whistle, and the game began! Victoria darted in, grabbed the Quaffle, and sped towards the goalposts. She was small, light, and very fast.

"Goodness me, who would have thought our Australian friend could fly like that! Are you watching this Slytherin?" shouted Lee Jordan.

Yes indeed, the Slytherin team was watching Victoria with terror. She darted out of reach of their chasers and scored the first goal of the match to the crowd's screams. Harry and Malfoy were very impressed.

"Go Victoria, go!" yelled Harry. Malfoy however stayed silent. No matter how much he liked her, he could not cheer for a Griffindor.

About half an hour into the game, Harry and Malfoy saw the snitch at the same time. Since Harry had the better broom, he took the lead and had almost caught it when Malfoy kicked him in the stomach from underneath. Completely winded it was all too easy for Malfoy to catch the snitch, but instead the hatred for his rival took over, and he focussed on hitting Harry again and again!

Harry could hardly see; his vision was blocked by blood and green and silver Quidditch robes. Just as he was about to faint, Victoria saw them, and intervened by swooping into Malfoy and banging him as hard as she could off course. "Get away Harry!" she yelled, and turned to face Malfoy.

"You leave him alone Malfoy," she said dangerously. "You could have easily caught the snitch then, but you hung onto your own stupid pride and now it's lost! There was absolutely no need to pick a fight with Harry!"

"So what?" retorted Malfoy. "It was worth it just to see him suffer. Ooh, it felt good to make him bleed!"

"Hah! So it's true what they say about you then Malfoy! You are the meanest, lowest form of life that ever walked the planet! And to think that I liked and trusted you! I should have listened to Harry!" Victoria shouted.

"Ah, so you have the hots for Saint Potter, do you?" Malfoy mocked. "I should have seen it when you saved his scrawny neck back then!"

"I'm not in love with Harry, and he'd have done the same for me!"

"Typical for a skanky mud blood like you to deny it, _Dreanadia_!" he yelled. "I can't believe I loved such a filthy shrew!"

At that moment, all Victoria felt was blind rage, hatred, and betrayal. He had called her a skanky mud blood, and that was going way over the limit! Both consumed by fury, they flew at each other and collided…WHAM!!!

By this time, the entire school had noticed the fight. Victoria and Draco hit, kicked, scratched, bit, and punched each other until their brooms could not take the strain, and transported them to the ground. There the battle continued. Sometimes Malfoy was on top, sometimes Victoria was on top, and all the while teachers and students were running towards them accompanied by Lee Jordan commentating the fight. Eventually Malfoy proved the stronger of the two and soon had Victoria pinned to the ground where he was pummelling her without mercy. Victoria, stricken with pain was feebly trying to push him off, but to no avail. When Madam Hooch managed to pull Malfoy off her, Victoria was a mess.

Her Quidditch robes were torn beyond repair, she had bruises from head to toe, and her face was a mixture of cuts, bruises, grazes, swellings, blood, and tears. Not to mention she was out cold. Malfoy had not fared much better though, and was almost as hurt as Victoria, but not quite.

Harry was the first student to reach her. "Malfoy, what did you do to her?!" he shouted.

"She deserved it," mumbled Malfoy.

"Why, because she was sticking up for me? What is your problem you prat? Look at her, she's so much smaller than you, but you still attacked her you coward!" he spat, his eyes showing only rage and loathing.

Madam Hooch still had Malfoy in a firm grip when Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall rushed onto the field. Dumbledore took one look at the situation and said, "Madam Pomfrey, take Miss Dreanadia up to the Hospital Wing, yes Harry Ron and Hermione, you may go too, everyone else back to their house common rooms, Mr. Malfoy, to my office immediately!"

Madam Pomfrey conjured a stretcher, Ron and Harry lifted Victoria onto it, and then proceeded to the Hospital Wing. Draco was escorted to Dumbledore's office, and with every step he took his heart sank a little more. What would they do to him?

He sat opposite a grave faced Professor Dumbledore, who said, "Now Mr. Malfoy, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Draco opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a sob, and then he broke down completely. He cried and cried and cried, a new experience for Draco. Dumbledore waited for his sobs to subside, then asked him again.

"I…I didn't mean to," he stammered. I lost my temper, we both did! Oh, what have I done to that poor girl…and Potter was right, I should have left her alone since she is so much smaller than me! Professor Dumbledore, what are you going to do to me? Will I be expelled?"

"No, you won't be expelled," said Dumbledore. "but you will receive a weeks detention, thirty points will be taken from Slytherin, I will be writing to your family tonight, and you will be made to apologise to Victoria."

Malfoy accepted this punishment without complaint, for he felt that he deserved all he got. He knew his father would not really mind since Victoria was a mud blood, and he could handle detention, and thirty points was no great loss, but the hard part would be the apology. Draco had never had to apologise to anyone for anything in his life, let alone to a muggle-born. But he would have to try. 


	4. Malfoy's Tears

Here's chapter 4 everyone, hope you like it! I'll try to put in a chapter a day. If u review it you're my best friends!!

Chapter 4: Malfoy's Tears

Meanwhile in the Hospital Wing, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting anxiously beside Victoria's bed. She had regained conciousness, but she was still very weak, not to mention sore. Madam Pomfrey had said that the cuts would not scar because of the potion she had used, and it would be about three days until Victoria was strong enough to come back to school. Victoria had woken up with a start, and the first question she asked was, "Where's Malfoy?"

"Being severely punished by Dumbledore at the moment," said Hermione grimly. "He's been in his office for over an hour now."

"Oh, how I'd like to punch him like you did Victoria," said Ron with a faraway look in his eyes. "I'd sure give him something to think about!"

"Well, all I can say is that I feel really guilty," said Harry sadly. "I mean, he hurt you while you were sticking up for me."

"Don't worry Harry," said Victoria evilly. "It was about time someone used brute force against that little rat!"

"Yeah, but it shouldn't have been you," he replied. "By rights it should be me lying there."

"Hey, I just introduced him to violence. You can properly kill him another time, you're stronger than me Harry!" Victoria said, and they all laughed.

At that moment, the door opened, and Madam Pomfrey cam in leading a very cut, bruised, and woebegone Draco Malfoy. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all immediately stopped talking and glared at him. "I'd like you three to step outside now," said Madam Pomfrey. "Malfoy has something he needs to say to Victoria."

The three of them walked out slowly, casting warning looks at Malfoy. Madam Pomfrey left too, leaving him to sit on the chair beside Victoria's bed.

"What are you doing here Malfoy?" asked Victoria quietly.

"I…I needed to come to the Hospital Wing to get these cuts and bruises fixed," he said.

"That's not the only reason you're here, is it?"

"No," he sighed. "I also came to say…I'm sorry." He turned away. "I'm sorry for fighting with Potter, and I'm sorry for hurting you. I should have left you alone 'cause you're smaller than me."

Victoria sat up in bed, put her finger under his chin and slowly turned his face towards her. He was crying, for the second time that day. Great silent tears were pouring down his face, and his eyes showed pure sincerity, another first for Draco Malfoy. Victoria was touched.

"You're crying," she said softly. "I've never really seen a boy in tears before."

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Draco said.

Victoria pulled him into a silent hug. "It's fine Draco," she said, starting to cry herself. "I forgive you."

"Thanks," he said, and pulled her closer still. This time Victoria kissed Draco, only softly on the cheek. They smiled at each other, and Madam Pomfrey bustled in.

"Well, if you two have finished, I would like you, Mr. Malfoy, to come and lie down so I can fix those battle wounds of yours. "You'll have to spend the night here I'm afraid, and you can go back to school tomorrow."

"Can I say goodbye to the others first Madam Pomfrey?" asked Victoria.

"Yes, you may," she said, and let Harry, Ron, and Hermione in.

"What did you say to her?" said Harry to Malfoy, an undertone of pure hatred in his voice.

"That Potter is none of you're business," retorted Draco harshly.

"He didn't upset you though did he?" said Ron to Victoria.

"No, he didn't," she replied.

* * *

When Victoria and Malfoy came back to school, the whole place was in an anti-Malfoy uproar. Even some of the Slytherins were treating him strangely. People kept tripping him in the corridors, spilling ink on his work, insulting him very loudly when he walked past, and banging into him when he was not looking. He took all this on the chin though, but it did not stop him from passing snide remarks to Harry. For example:

"Hey Potter, what were you doing running off with you're tail between your legs and leaving you're little girlfriend to face me? Suddenly lost what little nerve you have?"

But Harry and Ron had one very powerful weapon that Malfoy could not retaliate against; "You hit a girl Malfoy. For shame, for shame, for shame." This would always send him off sulking.

His family was, of course, disappointed in him, but since Victoria was muggle-born, no Howler came to him at breakfast to the great annoyance of the Griffindor students.

"It just goes to show how prejudiced his family is towards muggle-borns," Ron said heatedly. "His dear old dad probably wouldn't have minded if he had finished Victoria off!"

Although the situation blew over in time, Malfoy would never really live it down. Teachers and students lost a lot of respect for him, but one did not.

"He apologised to me," Victoria reminded herself. "and he cried when he did." Malfoy's tears had meant a lot to her.

Sorry, the chapter's a bit short this time! Well, if you read and review I'll love you!


	5. Love at the Yule Ball

Hello guys! Chapter 5 up now! R and R ASAP please!!

Chapter 5: Love at the Yule Ball

The Yule Ball was coming up, and as usual everyone was in a frenzy of excitement. Dress robes were being fitted, dates were being organized and because of this the boys in the school were in a highly nervous state. It was not uncommon to see a boy coming down the corridor pale-faced and teary, so nobody was teased.

It was not hard for Harry to find a date, he simply asked Cho Chang, and of course she said yes. Ron was going with Padma Patil again, Ginny Weasely was going with Colin Creevey, Hermione was with Seamus Finnigan, and Parvati Patil had hit it off with Justin Finch-Fletchly, which was the talk of the school. But Victoria still had nobody, much to her great frustration, as she wanted, of course, to go with Draco Malfoy.

"The problem Victoria is that you're so pretty the boys are afraid to ask you," Hermione said when Victoria complained about it. "Your beauty is your own worst enemy."

"Aw, come on Hermione, get real," Victoria said sceptically. "You're just being nice!"

Draco Malfoy was in a state of terror. He still had not asked anyone to go with him, and he knew that everyone expected him to ask Pansy Parkinson, so she turned down every other offer she had had. But Malfoy did not want to go with Pansy, he wanted to go with Victoria Dreanadia, but was too afraid to ask. But one day, he summoned up all his courage, and went to find her in the library.

"Hey Victoria," he said when he saw her. "do you have a date for the Ball yet?"

"No," she said, pulling herself away from her Arithmancy essay. "Why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to go with me."

Victoria grinned broadly. "Yes Draco. I would love to go to the Ball with you. You're the one I wanted to go with originally anyway."

"Really? I am? Well, that's great then!" he said, giving her his usual Draco Malfoy smirk. "I'll see you there, okay?"

"Okay," she replied, and turned back to her homework, seemingly unruffled. But in actual fact, her heart was singing. She had a date, and it was with Draco Malfoy, the sexiest guy in school! As soon as she had finished the essay, she rushed off to tell Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"I have a date!" she squealed as she clambered through the portrait hole.

"That's great!" said Harry. "Who?"

"You're not going to like it," Victoria said.

"Why not?" asked Ron.

"Because it's Draco Malfoy."

"DRACO MALFOY?!" they all yelled together.

"But how could you after all that stuff he did?" said a shocked Hermione.

"Listen," said Victoria, pulling them closer. "You know when Madam Pomfrey left me alone with Malfoy so he could say sorry? Well, he did of course, but he cried when he said it."  
"What? Malfoy _cried_?" whispered Harry and Ron.

"Yes he did," she continued. "and until he did, I didn't believe he meant it. But when I saw his face, I knew he was being sincere. But don't tell anyone okay? Promise?"

"Alright, we promise," said Harry, but very reluctantly.

"Good. Now you see why I want to go with him?" Victoria said.

"I s'pose so," said Ron. "But you have to promise to still go for Griffindor in everything."

"Oh come on Ron, you know I'll always be loyal!" said Victoria. "So, how long till the Yule Ball again?"

"Three days," said Hermione. "Lucky you got a date in time hey? Oh, I tell yo what, Pansy Parkinson won't be happy!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about her!" said Victoria. "I can't wait to see her face!" They all laughed at that.

"Look at the time, it's midnight!" exclaimed Hermione. "We'd better get to bed."

And so off they went.

* * *

On the night of the Yule Ball everyone was rushing around getting ready, particularly the girls. But it was well worth the effort, because as they went to meet their dated, they all looked absolutely gorgeous! But the one girl that stood out as extremely beautiful was, of course, Victoria Dreanadia.

Her dark blonde hair was pulled back in a wavy bun from which strands fell around her pretty face, topped with a diamond tiara. Her dress was deep, dark blue silk that seemed to change colour as she moved, and her elbow length gloves completed the effect. Everything about her was perfectly in place; she was easily the belle of the ball.

When Draco saw her at the entrance to the Great Hall, his jaw dropped. Never in his life had he seen anyone look so beautiful, not even that Veela girl Fleur Delacour from the year before. Victoria smiled when she saw his face. "What, am I ugly or something?" she said.

"No…no, quite the opposite actually," said Draco, offering her his arm, which she took with a smile. As they walked past a scowling Harry and Ron, Malfoy smirked nastily at them. Their expressions did not change until Cho and Padma told him to stop it. 

"If she wants to go out with him, fine," said Cho to Harry and Ron. "All I can say is that she's either blind or has extremely bad taste."

Of course Victoria and Draco going together was the talk of the town, and nobody could figure out why Victoria had said yes. People even asked Harry, Ron, and Hermione about it, but they did not spill the secret about Malfoy's tears.

"Tell you what though," said Ron to Harry. "it's so tempting just to let slip. Can you imagine how much trouble we could get him in?"

"I know," replied Harry wistfully. "but think of Victoria. Malfoy would blame her, and she'd blame us." so they stayed silent.

When the dancing started, Draco and Victoria were among the first to hit the floor. And around they danced, sometimes slow, sometimes fast. Pansy Parkinson was watching from the sidelines. She had been forced into a date with Goyle and was, understandably, not very happy about it, to the point where when Goyle asked her to dance, she slapped him and stalked out of the Hall.

Finally a slow song came on. Draco pulled Victoria close, and they slowly turned around. Suddenly, when they least expected it, Malfoy blurted out, " I love you Victoria. I really do." He turned bright red after he said it.

All that Victoria did was smile and draw his head to hers so she could whisper, "I love you too Draco." And then, in the middle of the dance floor where the whole school could see them, they kissed.

Everyone stopped when they saw them. In a state of shock, all that people could manage to mutter was, " Slytherin and Griffindor? _Malfoy and Victoria?_" 

Draco and Victoria's kiss deepened with every passing second. Thoughts and emotions were flying through their heads, too many to place a finger on. But they both knew one thing, and that was that they loved each other, and nobody could ever change that. All around them was silence, as if they whole world was holding its breath. 


	6. The Death Eater's Attack

Hello everybody!! Here is chapter 6, VERY SCARY this time! And thankyou purplehazepenelope for reviewing, you are my new best friend! By the way everyone, Merry Christmas!!!

Chapter 6: Attack of the Death Eaters

Suddenly, Justin Finch-Fletchly gasped and fell to his knees. "Justin, Justin, what's wrong?" shrieked Parvati.

"I…I feel weak," he stammered. Then he suddenly screamed, grabbed his stomach and started moaning wretchedly. At this, Draco and Victoria broke out of the kiss and stared.

Then when the same thing happened to Hermione, then Lavender Brown, the whole hall burst into action. Victoria ran to Hermione with Harry, Ron, and Malfoy close behind. Hermione was lying on the ground clutching her stomach and screaming in agony. More and more people were dropping like flies, and they all had one thing in common. They were all muggle-borns, so it was only a matter of time before…

Victoria felt her stomach lurch, and her breath came in ragged gasps. Then came the pain. She shrieked and fell into Draco Malfoy's arms. It was as if someone had filled her stomach with molten rock and was pressing down hard. "Victoria, Victoria!" Draco shouted, terrified. "What's wrong? Talk to me!"

But soon all the muggle-borns in the school were beyond speech; the pain was too great to do anything but scream. Crying openly, Draco tried to revive Victoria, but in vain. Boys were shouting in panic, girls were weeping, but then Dumbledore realized what was wrong.

"SILENCE!!!" he thundered. "Minerva! It's the multiple crutiatious curse! Someone has cursed all the muggle-borns!"

"We must get them to the dormitories, the curse can't reach them there!" McGonagall shouted back.

"Everyone, get the muggle-borns to the dormitories, Minerva, to the Ministry of Magic, teachers, assemble in the Entrance Hall! NOW GO!!!" Dumbledore ordered.

"But Victoria! I can't leave Victoria!" shouted Draco.

"Yes you can Malfoy!" yelled Ron, picking Victoria up. "We'll look after her! You go deal with Blaise!"

So off everyone ran to the dorms, some carrying muggle-borns or slinging them over their shoulders. Harry and Ron, carrying Victoria and Hermione, scrambled through the portrait hole and into the common room where they, along with the other muggle-borns, immediately came out of their fits.

"What's happening Ron?" said Hermione weakly.

"I think someone's doing the crutiatious curse on all the muggle-borns," he replied gravely.

Suddenly Victoria sat up. Eyes wide, and ran to the window. What she saw made her blood run cold as ice. Her fear was beyond screaming, so all she did was whisper, "Um…don't panic everyone, but there's something you need to know…"

"What?" said Parvati, looking outside. Then, panic stricken, she yelled, "THE CASTLE IS UNDER ATTACK BY DEATH EATERS!!!"

And sure enough there they were, dressed in their black hooded robes and white masks. There seemed to be hundreds of them! Everyone rushed to the windows, and when they saw hat was happening, chaos reigned in the Griffindor common room. Seamus Finnigan's obscene Irish curses could be heard over the shrieking, and Lavender Brown was running around in aimless circles yelling, "We're all gonna die we're all gonna die WE'RE ALL GONNA DIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!"

"QUIET!!!" roared Harry. "If there's one thing I've learnt in all my years in the wizarding world, it's NEVER PANIC IN ANY SITUATION. Now, undoubtably this is the most frightening thing that has ever happened to Hogwarts, but just remember that Dumbledore is in charge, and he'll definitely find a way to get rid of those Death Eaters!"

"Well, he won't be able to fast enough," said Victoria who was still staring out the window.

"Why not?"

__

"Because the Death Eaters have found the back entrance to the castle, and they're coming in!!!" she yelled. "And what's worse, Dumbledore doesn't know!"

"Well," said Ron, surveying the scene down below. "it seems a bit late to un and warn him! What the hell are we supposed to do now!?"

Thinking hard, Harry could come up with only one solution. "We'll have to fight them ourselves," he said, real fear in his eyes. "Only we know where they are, and it's too late to tell Dumbledore!"

"Right!" said Ron without a moments hesitation. "Everyone that's not muggle-born, follow us. We'll have to focus on disarming them and breaking their wands!"

__

"What are you on about?!" yelled Victoria.

"Victoria, it's the only plan we've…"

"I meant to say that there is no way I am staying in here while you guys risk your lives alone! We're all coming, aren't we Hermione?"

"But what about the curse?" said Ron.

"According to my research, the multiple Cruciatus curse only works for fifteen minutes, and it's been well over half an hour," said Hermione. "We'll be with you all the way!"

And with that, the Griffindors stormed out of their common room and towards the back entrance of the castle. In their hearts each one of them knew that what they were doing was very foolish, but they also knew that it was the right thing to do. Parvati Patil even had the sense to go and get all the other houses to join in the fight. Draco was hesitant at first, but then he remembered Victoria lying on the ground, screaming in agony, so he was one of the first people to reach the mob of students.

When they did find the Death Eaters, Victoria froze; she was terrified. They seemed so big, and she felt so small, and she could also see the hatred and malice in their eyes. But then Harry's battle cry of "ATTACK!!!" brought her to her senses, and so the fight began.

Bodies were petrified, legs were locked, wands snapped, curses were blocked, and many people had to resort to physical violence when there was nothing else to do. But eventually the Death Eaters proved too strong for them, and they were driven into the Great Hall, where they sat in darkness and in terror.

"Well? What now?" said Hermione softly to Ron.

"I don't know Hermione," he replied.

In the meantime, Victoria had found Draco and was in his arms, crying silently. "I'm frightened Draco," she whispered through her tears.

"So am I," he said. "But I'm also scared because I'm 99% certain that my dad is here and one of the Death Eaters."

"Oh," said Victoria, too shocked to say anything else. "So who's side are you on then?"

"Well, at first I was on the Death Eaters' side, but then I thought of you, and now I am wherever you are."

With that, Draco pulled Victoria close and kissed her. "Don't worry," he murmured. "I'll look after you."

Please R&R!!


	7. The Siege

Hey everyone! Chapter 7 up now, and thankyou to Luicia Malfoy, YOU ROCK!!!

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The Siege

For a week the Hogwarts students were kept peened in the Great Hall, with no sign of the teachers anywhere. Everyone had theories as to where they were, each one more outlandish than the next. However, nobody voiced the thought that maybe Voldemort had killed them all, and that they were the only ones left. They all knew it was possible though.

After a while, they began to get a better idea of their situation. The Death Eaters were obviously using the castle as some sort of fortress, they could hear them moving about in the corridors above and around the Great Hall. "To think that one of those pieces of scum is sleeping in my bed!" Ron had growled to many nods of approval. Toilets had been attached, and the food came through the house tables as normal, three times a day. But this food was usually warm, sour milk with a piece of mouldy old cheese and crusty bread. As a result, vomiting and acute attacks of diahorrea became a common occurrence. No beds or blankets ever came through, so the students had to sleep freezing on the cold floor or the tables. There was absolutely no point trying to escape as the Great Hall had Death Eaters all around it twenty-four hours a day, even at the secret passageways, to stop them getting out. So basically, all they could do was wait.

"I can't take much more of this," said Victoria to Draco one particularly cold morning. "We have no blankets, hardly any food, no means of washing, and half the first years are constantly crying or panic stricken as to what is going to happen to us. Mind you, so am I," she continued.

"Yeah," replied Draco. "I'm scared stiff as well." But his mind was on other problems. His father and his mother were both Death Eaters, and were undoubtably in the castle at that very moment. He knew that he was safe with them there. He had always wanted to be a Death Eater, and his parents had always expected him to be one. But now things had changed. He had fallen in love with a muggle-born witch, a _mudblood. _What would his parents say to that? He was now torn between two emotions; loyalty to the Dark Side, and love for Victoria. He had no idea who to defend if the worst came to the worst. He might even be forced to kill Victoria…no, the thought was to horrible to even contemplate.

Harry had been spending a lot of time on his own, just brooding on what he knew would probably come. He would probably have to eventually sacrifice his life to save Hogwarts, the wizarding world, and the muggle world. He knew also that he would not hesitate to do so, but he wanted to be ready when the time came. He was after all Voldemort's number one enemy, and the most vulnerable person at Hogwarts.

Finally on the seventh day in captivity, the door banged open, and there stood a tall Death Eater, dressed in black robes with the usual mask. The whole room went silent, and somewhere a first year whimpered, terrified. "Harry Potter," she said. "You are to come with me."

"Why?" Harry asked bravely.

"The Dark Lord…wants a word with you, yes, that's it," she replied slowly.

"And what if I refuse to come?" said Harry.

"I'd advise you not to," she said snakily, as two more Death Eaters joined her. "Otherwise we might have to put a little curse on you, a very painful one, and you wouldn't like that now would you?"

Harry winced. He did not have very fond memories of the Cructiatus curse. He stepped forward.

"NO!" shouted Ron and Hermione in unison. "If Harry goes, we go!"

"Yes, and where Ron and Hermione's go, I go!" said Victoria.

"And…" put in Draco. "where Victoria goes…I go too!"

There was a stunned silence. Then two of the three Death Eaters took off their masks and stared at Draco. They were Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy, Draco's parents.

"But Draco, this girl is a muggle-born, a mud blood! How can you protect a mud blood?" said a shocked Lucius Malfoy.

"Mother, Father, I…I'm sorry, but, I can't let her alone. I don't care about Potter, Weasley, or Granger, but I do care about Victoria," Draco said.

"But why?" asked Narcissa.

"Because I love her," Draco said fiercely. "I love her more than life itself; I worship the very ground she walks on. And I know that if I leave Victoria, a muggle-born, in your company, she will probably be killed, and if she is, my life is over. So I will stay with her, wherever she goes, and I am on whichever side she is on." Draco found it agonisingly hard to say all this, but he meant every word of it, even if it went against all he knew and believed in.

Victoria turned to look at him, and tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh, Draco," she whispered, and fell into his arms. Draco stroked her hair and hushed her gently. Lucius whispered something to Narcissa, and she nodded.

"Well, Draco, if that is your decision, then you leave me no choice but to treat you as I would treat Potter," sneered Lucius. "And after all, perhaps it would give the Dark Lord more satisfaction to have five victims instead of one." Narcissa nodded in agreement, scowling in contempt for her only son.

The Death Eaters strode forward and grabbed Harry, Ron, Hermione, Victoria, and Draco and frog-marched them out of the Great Hall. "They're taking us to the top Astronomy tower," whispered Ron to Harry.

"I know," he answered. "Ron, you do realize that this could be the end of me, don't you?" he continued.

"Yep," said Ron grimly. "but I know one thing Harry. I would gladly give my life for you, as would Hermione and Victoria, I'm not so sure about Malfoy though. So if you do happen to die, I will either die with you or live on to protect others in your place if I don't. This I swear Harry."

"Likewise Ron," said Harry with tears in his eyes.

Victoria was walking steadfastly on with Hermione at her side. She was afraid, but she would rather die than let the Death Eaters, the scum of the earth, see her quail before them. Hermione saw this, and Victoria's strength gave her strength. And so they walked endlessly up the many flights of stairs that led to the Astronomy tower.

Draco was deep in thought, and hardly aware of what was going on around him. Had he made the right decision? Should he have swapped to the other side? These doubts lingered in him until he felt a hand brush against his. Victoria gave his had a squeeze, and at that moment, he knew that all the evil inside him, put there by his father and mother, had finally vanished, and all it had taken was the touch of one sweet girl. He knew them that he had made the right decision, and he was ready to sacrifice his life for her if he needed to.

Finally they reached the Astronomy tower. For a moment they could not see anything, but then a light flashed, and they saw a figure standing at the edge, a figure wearing long black robes. It turned to face them, and they saw the trademark red eyes. That figure standing before them was Lord Voldemort.

So, how was that? Wanna see what happens next? Then _please_ review for me! And by the way Luicia Malfoy, he kept pummelling Victoria because she was sticking up for Harry, she was a muggle-born, and a Griffindor, so he lost his temper. He was also a very dirty fighter, and he knew he would have the upper hand in a very short time. That's just the sort of person he is, or was. 


	8. A Life that Starts Again

Hey guys! Here is chapter 8, and we are coming to the end of this little story. It's my first so it's only short. Anyway, thankyou to all my reviewers, and Rose and Marigold, dear sisters of mine, THIS IS SO NOT THE BEST STORY U'VE EVER READ, SO STOP TELLING ME WICKED LIES!!! Phew! Well, here we go…

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A Life that Starts Again

Yes, there was Voldemort, standing before them, a vision of darkness and death. Victoria's breath caught in her throat, and she heard Hermione let out a small whimper. "Voldemort," said Harry softly.

"Yes," said the Dark Lord in his snake-like voice. "You knew I would see you again Harry, and I made it my business to see you. You are after all my most hated enemy, but you could become my most trusted and faithful friend…"

"What are you saying?" said Harry boldly.

"Oh come now boy," hissed Voldemort. "Don't play games with me. You are after all a powerful and intelligent wizard, why don't you put that power and intelligence to good use?" Harry was silent, he thought he knew what was coming. It had been asked of him before.

"Join me Harry," said Voldemort. "You are on the losing side; nobody can withstand me for long, not even the great Harry Potter and that muggle loving fool Albus Dumbledore."

"No," said Harry firmly, the hatred audible in his voice. "How on Earth do you think I could join the side of evil, pain, and death, and the man who murdered my parents?!"

"Ah Harry," sighed Voldemort. "I see that Draco Malfoy had no trouble in changing sides, and you are stronger than him." He glared at Lucius and Narcissa.

"That's only because I had a reason to switch; Victoria!" shouted Draco. "Potter has no reason whatsoever to change."

"Well, I can give him a reason…" hissed Voldemort. And with that he shouted "Accio!" and Ron and Hermione shot towards him, where he grabbed them by the hair. Hermione and Ron shrieked in panic to Victoria's cry of "No!".

"Well Harry, it appears that I definitely have the upper hand," said the Dark Lord. "Join me, or your little friends will die!"

Harry was torn between two decisions, it was a lose/lose situation. Whatever he was to do, he had to think fast. But Draco got there first.

"Petrificus Totalus!" he yelled, and Voldemort went rigid and fell. Ron and Hermione scrambled free while the Death Eaters rushed forward with the counter-curse.

"What the hell was that Malfoy?" said Ron. "You saved our lives, sheesh, what's gotten into you?"

"If we get out of this alive Weasley," sneered Draco. "then do me a favour and never tell anyone that I just did that!" Ron nodded, a bemused expression on his face.

Meanwhile, Voldemort was back on his feet, and incredibly angry. "Lucius!" he snarled. "I will leave it up to you to deal with your treacherous son!"

"Certainly, my Lord," said Lucius, and he turned to Narcissa, who nodded. For a fleeting moment, Victoria saw an expression of pain and remorse on their faces. It soon vanished when Lucius pointed his want at Draco and yelled, "Crucio!"

"NO!!!" screamed Victoria, but Draco was already rolling around on the ground, yelling and writhing with an expression of agony on his face. Victoria broke free of the Death Eater holding her and ran to Draco's aid. She grabbed him around the waist and yanked him out of the way of the wand's beam and into a corner, where she lay huddled over him, her body shielding him from his angry father.

"Stand aside, girl!" barked Lucius Malfoy. But Victoria gave him a look that made him stop dead in his tracks. He had never seen a look of such anger, hatred, love, and fierce pride on a face so young and innocent before. He slowly backed away.

"Oh Draco, oh honey, are you okay?" she whispered to Draco.

"I…I think so," he stammered. "Thankyou Victoria. Just promise me never to let them do that to you."

"I won't let them, don't worry," Victoria said, still protecting Draco from the Death Eaters.

In the meantime, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were fighting a losing battle with Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Try as they might, the teenagers could not overpower them, they were too powerful. But Harry had said to Ron and Hermione that if he had to die, he would die fighting. They had of course agreed with him, so they pressed on and on. But all the while they could feel all the energy and life draining out of them. They knew it would not be long now before…

Before they had realized it, the Death Eaters had backed them into Victoria and Draco's corner. There was nowhere to turn, and they were certain that this was the end. "Goodbye my friends," Harry whispered to Ron and Hermione as Voldemort had stepped forward. "I'll find you in death and stay with you forever."

"No," said Voldemort. "I won't kill you Harry, if you join me. I will not kill your friends either."

"I…" Harry began, but before he had realized what was happening, the Dark Lord had lifted his wand to point it at Harry's face. "Avada…" But someone got there before he had finished the curse. Victoria flung herself into Voldemort's line of fire and got the full blast of the incantation. She was dead before she hit the cold stone floor.

"**_NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!_**" screamed Draco, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Then looking at each other, they knew what they had to do.

"Damn!" yelled Voldemort, but before he could try again, the four teenagers had lifted their wands and yelled, "**_AVADA KEDAVRA!!!_**" with as much force as they could muster. Voldemort's red eyes widened, then there was a crack of what sounded like thunder, a blinding flash of green light…and Voldemort had disappeared. They did however see a kind of grey mist floating up, up, up, and out of sight. Harry turned on the three stunned Death Eaters. "You'll be next if you don't all get out of here within the next five minutes!" he said. "NOW MOVE!" they obediently scurried off. True to their word, every Death Eater was out of Hogwarts in three minutes time.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned to look at Draco and Victoria. Draco was sitting with her in his arms, silent tears rolling down his face. "Victoria, I'll always love you," he said. "and I vow here that someday, Voldemort will pay for what he's done to you!"

"And we'll be by your side - Draco," said Harry. Soon all four of them were in tears. "Come on," said Harry, we'd better go and find Dumbledore. Draco, you carry Victoria."

Draco nodded, and picked her up like a baby, "Oh, my love," he murmured, still crying. "My only love."

An hour later, Victoria's body was lying in a hospital bed with Draco next to her. Dumbledore, who had been locked in a trunk with the other teachers, had agreed to give him a few moments alone with her.

"I don't know if you can hear me," Draco said. "but if you can, then listen. I have loved you from the first moment I saw you walking through the Great Hall door. Ever since then this feeling that I have never really had before has grown stronger and stronger. I will always love you, no matter what happens to me or to anyone else. Goodbye Victoria, until our souls meet again." A tear trickled down his cheek as he kissed her ice cold lips. He stood up to leave her forever, when he heard a voice behind him. "Draco…" it said softly.

Draco jumped about three feet, then slowly turned around. "Draco," the voice continued. "It's me. I heard you calling me, I heard you loving me…" And then Draco realized that the voice belonged to Victoria.

"Victoria?" he whispered.  
"Yes," she said softly. "It's me."

"VICTORIA!" he shouted, and bent over her bed to kiss her again and again again. "How can you be alive, you were cursed, what the hell happened?"

"I heard you Draco, from wherever I was, I don't remember. I heard what you were saying, and I felt your heart. My soul somehow knew that my life wasn't over yet, so I came back."

At that moment, Dumbledore, Harry, and the others came rushing in, and got they shock of their lives.

"What happened?" breathed Harry.

"I've returned," said Victoria, smiling. "I've returned for Draco."

TA DA!!! Did you like that? Well, this is pretty much the end of my first fanfic, but I still have one more little prologue left to write. Tell you what though, there will definitely be a sequel to this story, when I find the time to write one! Please review for me!


	9. Recovery and Rita Skeeter

Hey guys! Change of plans, I will write more of this story, and there will be a sequel. So here it is, chapter nine, and please R/R for me!

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Recovery and Rita Skeeter

Madam Pomfrey insisted that all five teenagers stay in the hospital wing for as long as it took for them to recover completely. Especially Victoria, who had actually died. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Victoria all lay in hospital beds across from each other. Draco and Victoria, after much persuasion, had convinced Madam Pomfrey to let them have beds next to each other. "We need to talk to each other," Victoria had said.

"Yeah, that's right," Draco had agreed. "I want to know what it feels like to die." Victoria had snorted at this.

After about a day of total rest and sleep, Harry and Ron's relationship with Malfoy had gone back to normal. They spent most of the time that they were awake hurling insults at each other across the beds.

"Well well wee, for once the famous Harry Potter didn't save the day all by himself," Malfoy had sneered almost as soon as they had all woken up. "What's the matter, losing your touch?" 

"Shut up Malfoy, I don't seem to remember you contributing much except for rolling around on the floor screaming like a baby and letting Victoria rescue you!"

"Ron…" said Hermione with a warning tone in her voice, as she could see Malfoy turning red and Victoria's frown. In her present condition, Victoria could not afford to be stressed or strained in any way.

"Need I remind you, Weasley, that that was the Cruciatus curse. I'd like to see you handle that!" snarled Malfoy. "And I did help cast the Avada Kedavra curse; without me it wouldn't have worked! And I switched sides, much to my disgrace, no offence Victoria."

"None taken."

"Oh come off it Malfoy, you know the only reason you switched sides was because of Victoria! You'd still be with the Death Eaters if it wasn't for her!" scoffed Harry.

"Sod off you 'boy who lived for the sake of showing off his non-existent talents!'"

"Puncey!"

"Muggle-lover!"

"Scumbag!"

"Show-off!"

"DEATH EATER!" this had come from Ron.

"RON!" yelled Victoria. "Now you know that's not true. Apologize now!"

"What?! I'm not apologizing to that slime ball!" said Ron.

"Um, Ron, I think you'd better do what Victoria says," said Hermione. As usual, she had noticed Victoria's face become strained and pale, and Draco looked mortified.

"Yeah," said Harry, seeing it too. "if only for Victoria."

"Alright fine then. Sorry Malfoy," said Ron. Malfoy smirked.

"And you apologize to Ron and Harry, Draco," said Victoria. "You started the fight."

"What…?!"

"I mean it Draco!"

"Okay, sorry."

"Thankyou. Now can you boys be quiet so I can get some sleep?" sighed Victoria, exhausted.

"Yeah, sorry honey," said Draco, and lay back down to rest. However, within the next two hours they were fighting again, until Madam Pomfrey came in and reminded them that they were all in a critical condition, especially Victoria, and if they kept on like this then she would have to move her into a separate room. This shut them up, particularly Draco. After about two weeks, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco were ready to go back to school. Hermione was freaking because Madam Pomfrey had refused to allow her to do any work until she was better. "But I'll be so behind!" she had cried.

"Don't worry Hermione! The teachers are going to make special allowances for you. Now sleep!" Madam Pomfrey had said.

When they went back, the whole school cheered at them as they walked down the corridors. Though most of the Slytherins were giving them very subtle death glares, particularly to Draco since he had swapped sides, or "turned traitor" in their opinion. But the person that everyone wanted to see most was Victoria, since she was the one who had actually died. Draco went to see her every day, as many times as he could until she came back to school a week later.

"Dumbledore has told everyone not to ask you any questions about what death is like," he assured her the day before she returned.

"That's good, I was dreading people asking me that," Victoria replied.

"And also, Rita Skeeter wants a word with all five of us, separately. She's putting a piece in the Daily Prophet, much to Dumbledore's disapproval."

"Oh, no!" Victoria wailed. "Harry told me what her interviews were like, yuk!" Malfoy smirked.

"And don't you give me that look, I know you thought those stories about Harry were funny, but there's no need to gloat over them!"

"Okay, okay, sorry honey," Draco said. "Well, I'd better go now, lunch is over. I'll see you tomorrow then!" He kissed her goodbye and left the room.

Three days later Rita Skeeter pulled all five of them out of class to be interviewed. "This won't take long Professor McGonagall," she had purred. So off they went to the usual broom cupboard. She interviewed Harry first, and after about seven minutes Ron, Hermione, Victoria, and Draco heard Harry's raised voice say, "I have _not_ been having a secret affair with Victoria since the attack, she's with Draco!"

"Ah, but can you prove that?" Rita persisted.

"Heck yeah I can, you want to see them snogging in the hospital wing when nobody's looking?!" and with that he kicked open the door, and was immediately greeted by Victoria cuffing him around the head.

"Why in God's name did you tell her that?!" she hissed, but Harry could see a faint smile as she said it. Ron, Draco, and Hermione snorted.

Hermione went in next, then Ron, and they both came out with expressions of disgust and loathing on their faces.

"She wanted me to tell her whether I thought that you were losing your tough since it wasn't only you that saved everyone Harry!" Hermione said, outraged. "And of course I said no!"

"Yeah, and she asked me if I thought I had finally stopped living in Harry's shadow!" said an angry Ron. "I mean, how mean is that, I felt quite hurt!"

Next came Draco. He strutted into the cupboard looking oh so full of himself, but came out four minutes later yelling, "There is no way, no way in the world that I would ever tell you whether or not I had ever…done that with Victoria, you nosy cow!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione heard that and were immediately in fits of giggles.

"Victoria, will you come in now?" said Rita Skeeter sweetly.

"Yeah, sure," answered Victoria, but not before crossing herself several times. It was hot and stuffy in the broom cupboard, and Rita's cheap perfume didn't help much.

"Ah, Victoria, here are a few questions I would like you to answer for me. First of all, would you consider yourself the real hero of the day?"

"No," Victoria answered firmly. "I just saw what was happening faster than the others. I did exactly the same amount as they did." She glanced at the Quick Quoted Quill, which was writing, "ever modest Victoria Dreanadia, denies the fact that she was more heroic than the others. "They did the same as me, only I have faster reflexes and a lot more guts," she says.

"I did not say that!" said Victoria. "You're making me sound like a stuck-up bitch!"

"Pay no attention to the pen, dear," Rita said. "Now, can you tell me why you almost sacrificed you life to save Harry?"

"He's my friend," she said simply. "Friends look out for each other."

"So you're sure you're not having a secret affair with him behind Draco Malfoy's back?" Rita asked.

"No I'm not!" Victoria declared. "I love Draco, not Harry."

"Interesting," said Rita. "Now, how old are you? Fifteen? Well, if you're so close to Mr. Malfoy, then considering you're age you must have come near to…"

"It's none of you're business where my and Draco's relationship is going at this point in time, Rita Skeeter," snapped Victoria quickly.

"Right," said Rita. "Well, I have just one more topic to cover, Victoria. What did it feel like to die?"

"I'd rather not answer that," said Victoria. Rita ignored her.

"Was it painful? Was it frightening? Do you think that from what you've experienced that there is life after death?"

"I told you that I'd rather not talk about it," said Victoria, a warning note in her voice.

"But come now my dear, surely you must have felt something," Rita persisted.

"No!" yelled Victoria. "I'm not saying anything, Skeeter, because I don't really remember it! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting away from you an your nosiness before I die of claustrophobia, frustration, and disgust!" So she banged open the cupboard door and stormed out to the others.

"Well, that sounded fun," said Draco. "Did she ask you that rather personal question about…"

"Yes she did. How embarrassing, what's that going to look like in the Daily Prophet? And what are you three laughing at?" she rounded on a snickering Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "You try being in out position and see how you like it! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to class before I start throwing things."

"So am I," said Draco. "She's right, how embarrassing is that article going to be?" He walked after her.

"Come on," said Harry to Ron and Hermione. "Let's go before McGonagall blows her stack." And they set off to class after Victoria and Draco.

Hee hee, what's the article going to say? What will Rita Skeeter's twisted mind come up with now? If you want to find out, then read the next chapter, and please review for me, I love everyone who reads this story!


	10. Rita Skeeter's Article

Pheww, look at me, writing mania. I'm doing two or three chapters in one day! That's a lot for me! Well anyway, here is the article that Rita Skeeter wrote, and it is absolutely disgusting, untrue, and downright embarrassing. Hee hee hee, here we go!

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Rita Skeeter's Article

The next day Rita Skeeter's article for the Daily Prophet came out. Draco and Victoria go hold of a copy as soon as they could, and ran to the very back of the library so that they could read it without interruption. "Oh God," said Victoria when she had finished it. "We're doomed!"

"Too right," said Draco. "There go out reputations throughout the entire wizarding world, down the drain." He was too shocked to say anything else. This is what the article said…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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The Heroes of You Know Who's Attack

Just three weeks ago today, He Who Must Not Be Named launched an attack on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which is said to be the wizarding world's safest location alongside Gringotts bank. The staff were locked in a trunk in the dungeons on the castle while the students were kept under siege in the Great Hall for a week. What would happen to them was undoubtedly the only question on anyone's mind. Would they die? Would You Know Who turn them into slaves? Little did they know that five teenagers would give the Death Eaters, who have now gone into hiding, a little more than they had bargained for…

Ronald Weasely, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Victoria Dreanadia, and of course Harry Potter saved the castle and the entire wizarding world from the most powerful forces of evil there are. The five friends were dragged, struggling madly to the top astronomy tower of the castle, and there they faced You Know Who in the flesh, along with three powerful Death Eaters who will remain nameless.

For no apparent reason whatsoever, You Know Who proceeded to attack the five teenagers and torture them without mercy. However these brave students put up a fight. "We knew what we had to do," says Harry Potter, the usual saviour of the day, "so we did it without complaint." Eventually, the battle resulted in young Victoria sacrificing her life for Harry, which spurred him and the others on to perform a joint Avada Kedavra curse on the Dark Lord, which sent him into exile again.

Luckily, Victoria Dreanadia mysteriously came back to life on the same night that she was killed. Her boyfriend Draco Malfoy claims that the reason is that her soul could not stand to be without his. "Yeah, well, I guess I do love her, and she loves me. I mean, all I had to do was tell her body that I would always love her, and her soul heard and came back to it. Though it doesn't take a genius to work out why," he adds with a grin. "I mean, I am the hottest boy in the school after all."

Upon interviewing the other three heroes, I found that although Hermione Granger clearly stated that she did not think that Harry was losing his touch since he was not the only one to save the ay this time, she did imply that he seemed a little bit cold towards that fact. "He talks to us and everything," Miss Granger said, "but he has been a bit funny towards us all ever since it happened. All this fame's probably gone to his head, and he doesn't want to share the limelight with anyone."

Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend and loyal side-kick also had something to say about him. "I guess before this happened I was kind of living in Harry's shadow," he said thoughtfully when I questioned him. "Not that it was my fault, Harry just kept getting better and better at everything, particularly in the Triwizard Tournament last year. But since this incident, I think I've finally equalled him. I'm not in his shadow anymore."

Harry was, when I interviewed him, a little reluctant to tell me anything. "I'm getting very sick of Voldemort," he said. "and I find this very traumatic. Of course Victoria copped the worst of it though. I mean, she was the one who actually died. And I'm very grateful to her, because without her I wouldn't be here talking to you today Rita."

Because of this sacrifice that Victoria almost made, people have begun to question her and Draco's relationship. After all, it takes a very good friend to sacrifice their life for someone else, and Draco and Victoria are in different houses, and rival ones at that. But when I asked Harry, he solemnly denied the truth of this matter. "She is completely in love with Malfoy," he said firmly. "and I only see her a very good friend. Although," he added, blushing a little, "she is very pretty."

Victoria was equally sure of her answer. "No, I love Draco. After all, he brought me back to life. But Harry is really nice and very handsome, and I do like him a lot," she said, giggling slightly.

I also asked Harry whether he had any proof that he was not having a fling with Miss Dreanadia. "Ha ha, you ought to see Victoria and Malfoy snogging in the hospital beds late at night when they think they can't be seen. Trust me, they are very much involved with each other."

But just how involved are they with each other? When I asked Draco this, he merely smirked and said, "She's a beautiful girl, and I adore her more than life itself. So, let's just say that we are very close."

Victoria was just as mysterious. "I'll make no comment on that matter," ahe said. "It's very, ummm…_private_."

This brings me to Victoria's interview. The main question that I asked her was what it was like to actually die. After much persuasion, she finally let on that, "all I felt was a kind of peaceful feeling, and then I heard Draco's voice behind me, so I think I turned back or something. All in all though, I think I was very brave." When I asked her whether or not she thought that she was the other four had done as much as her, she nodded eagerly and said that, "the others did as much as me, only I have faster reflexes and a lot more guts!"

Well, that is the story of the five teenage heroes from Hogwarts who defeated He Who Must Not Be Named yet again. Nut has You Know Who really gone? That is a fact that has not been discovered. But for now, we can rest easy since You Know Who is definitely weak and powerless once more.

Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Draco and Victoria simply stared at the paper, too shocked to move. "Draco," said Victoria eventually. "I swear on my life that I never said any of those things."

"Likewise Victoria," replied Draco. Just then they heard laughter, and Justin Finch-Fletchly, Susan Bones, and Hannah Abbot came around the row of books concealing them, and Justin held a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Oh look girls, it's the two little love-birds! Should you two really be here alone together since your relationship is so…_private_?" smirked Justin to Susan and Hannah's giggles.

"Get lost, mud blood," growled Draco.

"You watch your mouth Malfoy," retorted Justin.

"Ooh, Draco's defending his little girlfriend's honour," simpered Susan.

"You heard him Bones. Now get lost before I do something I'll regret," threatened Victoria, pulling out her wand. The three Hufflepuffs scampered off. Victoria was well known for her bad temper. "Oh darling," sighed Victoria to Draco. "What are we going to do?"

"Deny everything and grin and bear it, I guess," he replied, shrugging. "I am dreading going back to class though."

"Likewise," said Victoria. "Well, I'd better go find Harry, Ron, and Hermione and see what they have to say." Just as she turned to leave, Draco stopped her.

"Victoria," he said seriously. "you're not really having an affair with Potter are you?"

Victoria suddenly kissed him passionately. "You know I'm not Draco. I love only you, and I am certain now that I always will." she said softly, and left the library.

Draco sat down on a chair and stretched out his legs. He was certain now that Victoria was The One for him; she was someone he could spend the rest of his life with. And this was only fifth year. If he already knew this now, then he must really love her. And now that she had told him that she loved only him, he had complete faith in her. She would never cheat on him, he knew she wouldn't. Maybe in their last year at Hogwarts they could start making plans…

Dear oh dear oh dear, wasn't Skeeter's article gross? I had fun writing it, hee hee hee. An I would just like to assure everyone that Victoria DOES NOT CHEAT ON DRACO. Ever. So you don't need to worry about that. And he doesn't cheat on her either. So will they start making plans? Well that's a couple of chapters off (I think), but who knows? Maybe they won't? You'll just have to read on to find out! And PLEASE review for me, I love you all!


	11. The Plot to Disgrace Rita Skeeter

Hey guys! Be proud of me, this is the third chapter I have written today. It's 10:27pm, so I might continue it tomorrow. Well, here goes, chapter eleven. Enjoy!

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The Plot to Disgrace Rita Skeeter

As you can imagine, school for Harry, Ron, Hermione, Victoria, and Draco was pure torture. It was a classic replay of what had happened the year before to Harry, only a lot dirtier, and five of them had to cope with it. Whenever Victoria and Draco walked down the corridor together, people would say to them, "Hey, when was the last time you two had some fun together?" or "You, the hottest guy in school Malfoy? I can't think why she came back for you!" this earned the speaker a death glare and a hurt glare. And when Pansy Parkinson shrieked very loudly so that everyone in the hallway could hear; "Hey Draco, maybe you should take me back since that little Griffindor whore has been cheating on you with Potter!", Victoria got so angry that she cursed Pansy and made her grow long hairs out of her nose and ears. Pansy then ran crying to the hospital wing, and Victoria got ten points taken off Griffindor.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were not faring much better. "Not living in Harry's shadow any more? Stop kidding yourself Weasley, you know you're nothing compared to Potter!" was the common insult for Ron, and Harry copped a lot of "How are you going seducing Dreanadia, Potter? Why don't you snog her in the middle of potions? That'd give us all a laugh!"

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione settled down to do their homework that night, Harry got so sick of people coming up and whispering in his ear, "Maybe it would be safer for both of you if we moved you or Victoria into another house, hey Potter?" that he slammed his books down onto the desk, yelled to everyone in the common room, "I am not having a fling with Malfoy's girlfriend, so shuttup all you stupid losers!" and stomped up to bed, closely followed by Ron and Hermione. Hermione turned back and said, "You should all be thanking us instead of teasing us! We nearly died for you, and Victoria actually did!" After that there was silence. One by one, the Griffindors went off to bed, until at midnight, only Victoria remained. She had been given extra Arithmancy homework since she had been away for so long, and hadn't finished it yet. Suddenly she heard a banging on the portrait hole, and a muffled voice was saying, "I don't care who's in there, for goodness' sake let me in, I can't take any more Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini flirtatious jealousies and insults!!!"

Knowing immediately who it was, Victoria ran to the door, opened it, and let in a panting Draco Malfoy. "Victoria, thank heaven it's you!" he gasped.

"Oh, my poor baby! Quick, come here and sit down," said Victoria, leading him to a couch and magicking him a glass of water. "Lean against my shoulder darling."

"Thanks Victoria," Draco said, his breathing slowing back to normal. "You're a legend."

She grinned at him. "Hey, I love you honey, what can I say?"

Draco laughed and hugged her. "Now Draco," said Victoria. "Tell me what happened."

"Well what's there to say?" said Draco wearily. "It was the usual; Pansy and Blaise flirting with me, trying to put me off you, calling you a whore, insisting that you'd been cheating with Potter-"

"Which you know I haven't," interrupted Victoria. "Go on."

"Both of them trying to seduce me, I mean, I'm only fifteen for goodness sake, and they're both younger than me! It's disgusting the way they go on about you, and us."

"I know," said Victoria. "They've been giving me a hard time too. Just know that I'll always love you, no matter what."

"And I you Victoria," said Draco, giving her a kiss. "And it's not our fault, anyway," he continued. "it's that Skeeter cow that causes all this trouble."

"Too right," agreed Victoria. "We have got to always stick by each other to make this relationship work out, Draco."

"And I intend to," said Draco, kissing her again. Suddenly, Victoria sat bolt upright. "What is it darling?" said Draco.

"I have an absolutely brilliant idea!" said Victoria. "You know how Rita Skeeter always makes us look bad…"

"Go on."

"Well, why don't we give her a taste of her own medicine? Why don't we embarrass the embarraser or once?" Victoria continues, her brilliant blue eyes gleaming mischievously.

"So you're saying…"

"Oh Draco, don't you see?" said Victoria, exasperated. "The hunter will become the hunted! Why don't we write a letter to the Daily Prophet exposing her for the cheat and liar that she is?"

"Brilliant!" said Draco enthusiastically. "I mean after all, she does use a Quick Quoted Quill, and she lies about everything say to her!"

"It's a perfect plan!" squeaked Victoria. "Oh, we can have some fun with this. When should we write it?"

"Why not now, while the idea's still fresh in our minds? We might not want to do it in the morning," said Draco.

"Good idea," said Victoria. "Now, who's going to write?"

"You," said Draco immediately. "You're the best writer. Just remember to put in all that stuff she said about us and Potter, and how it affected us personally."

"You can count on it!" giggled Victoria. "Now, where shall we start?"

"Well, "Dear Daily Prophet" is always a good beginning," said Draco sarcastically.

"Oh, shuttup Draco," said Victoria, punching him playfully. "Okay, Dear Daily Prophet…We are writing to inform you that the article that Rita Skeeter put into the Daily Prophet about the "heroes" of the Death Eater's attack on Hogwarts is almost completely untrue."

"Good so far," encouraged Draco. "Keep going."

"Ms. Skeeter has all the basic facts correct, but everything that Harry, Ron, Hermione, Victoria, and Draco were supposed to have said is totally false. Ms. Skeeter asked us extremely personal and embarrassing questions eg. Draco and Victoria's relationship, and lied about the answers that we gave her. Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley would never say such things about Mr. Potter, who is their best friend, and the information about Victoria and Draco is grossly exaggerated. This article had caused all five of us to be teased and ridiculed without mercy at school, as have all Ms. Skeeter's articles about Harry in the past. It has also given people a very wrong idea of just how involved Draco and Victoria are with each other, in a very embarrassing way."

"Brilliant so far!" said Draco. "Go on, write about how she uses a Quick Quotes Quill."

"Not only does she lie about innocent people, she also uses a Quick Quotes Quill, which, as we all know, does all the work for her. So all in all, the best way to describe Rita Skeeter is a liar, a cheat, and to be very graphic, an ugly git who does not care how many lives she ruins so long as she gets her stories written and makes sure she gets paid an amount that is really too much, since her level of expertise is simply asking very personal and irrelevant questions designed to give readers an entirely false impression of what the real story is.

Yours sincerely,

Victoria Dreanadia and Draco Malfoy"

"Fabulous!" said Draco enthusiastically. "One of your finest works Maestro."

"Thankyou darling," replied Victoria. "Now you'd better go back to your common room while I go and post this, Harry won't mind if I borrow his Invisibility Cloak. And don't let Parkinson and Zabini give you any grief, okay?"

"Don't worry, I won't," said Draco, kissing her goodbye. "Take care of yourself Victoria, I love you."

"I love you to Draco," said Victoria, smiling. Draco went to the portrait hole, opened it, and disappeared.

"Hee hee hee," laughed Victoria. "Rita Skeeter is in for a nasty surprise."

Oh, I can't wait to write the next chapter! Rita Skeeter is finally exposed for the liar that she is! And don't worry about your review secret08. And Kelvin, you are without a doubt one of the most wonderful people I have ever met (or heard from anyway). Please review for me, the next chapter will be up soon! 


	12. Rita Skeeter's Exposure

Hey everyone! First of all, fable2112, thankyou so much for your interview. And also thankyou for reminding me how to spell "Gr**_y_**ffindor" again, I haven't read the books for a while, sorry! I can't believe I've been spelling it wrong since I am a serious Harry Potter fan *blushes*. And also the idea of Victoria's character is actually to be a Mary-Sue, since it's the first time she's been introduced. She'll change in the sequel though, don't worry! She grows up a bit. This is my first fic, so go easy on me **:**s. Thanks again for reviewing though!

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Rita Skeeter's Exposure

Five days had past since the attacks by the death eaters, and everything was back to normal. Well almost everything, it seem that ever since Draco Malfoy laid eyes on the girl of his dreams Victoria his life had changed. At first he had been disgusted with himself for even looking at this mud blood; it went against everything he believed in, and of course the fact that she hung around the "Potter bunch" was enough. But now nothing mattered but her, and although he still detested Potter, Weasley, and Granger, his attitude towards muggle-borns had been changed by Victoria.

Draco was walking to joint potions class with Gryffindor when he heard a familiar voice. "Hey Draco, wait for me" it was Victoria. He stopped and waited for her. She greeting him with a peck on the check. "You weren't seriously going to class without me, were you?" Victoria asked. 

Draco smiled "Of course not, but we'd better hurry or Snape will take points off if you're late." So the two of them walked into class and sat down near Harry, Ron and Hermione. 

Snape walked in staring at Potter in disgust. "Potter, you know that Victoria belongs to Draco, you'd better be careful boy," Snape spat. "Today class we will be blending a basic antidote for temporary blindness. Everyone except for Malfoy And Miss Dreanadia get into threes. It's only fair that we give our heroes a rest." 

Snape was about to continue when Draco, who had caught Victoria's eye, said, "Professor Snape sir? I may have helped save the day, but without the help of Potter, Weasley, and Granger I wouldn't have been able to pull it off. They deserve the same amount of credit as I do, sir." Draco said this in his usual contemptuous voice, but he meant every word of it, surprisingly. The whole class stared. Was this the real Draco Malfoy? 

"Fine. Potter, Weasley, Granger go. The five of you are dismissed," Snape said, slightly irritated. The five of them stepped outside. "I'd never thought I say this to you Malfoy, but… thanks," said Harry. 

"Yeah, thanks," Echoed Ron and Hermione. Malfoy smirked.

"There's no need to smirk about it Draco," said Victoria sternly. "That was a very decent thing you did though."

"I know," said Draco, who was very surprised at himself.

They all went off to their separate common rooms.  
It was late in the afternoon and Draco, who was quite sleepy decided to call it a day. He was walking back to his dormitory only to be greeted by the usual teasing, "Hey Draco, heard your girlfriend was willing to die for Potter, too bad, I don't think she would have done it for you," from Pansy Parkinson. 

Draco sneered at her. "I never liked you at all Parkinson, you're the ugliest thing on two feet that ever lived. Go get jealous over some other guy, 'cause I really don't care!" he said. When he finished he saw Pansy's eyes fill with tears, and she when running off to the girls bathroom to cry it off. "She deserved that," Malfoy said to himself and continued on. Ever since that Rita Skeeter put out her article everyone had been giving him a hard time. All his friends had deserted him and everybody teased him about being with Victoria. Until his and Victoria's letter came out, he had no choice but to hang out with Potter, Granger and Weasley. Well, least this way he could be with Victoria.   
Draco finished getting ready to sleep and then wondered where his parents where, they would not want anything to do with him now, since he had helped bring about the downfall of Lord Voldemort. But he knew too well that Voldemort was still alive and that Potter and Victoria would once again seek revenge. Knowing this, he had come to the decision that he might as well help. Draco climbed into his bed and slept.

* * * 

The following day, Draco and Victoria's letter came out on the front page of the Daily Prophet. Harry, Ron, and Hermione came rushing up to Victoria at breakfast, with Ron waving a copy of the newspaper above his head. "Why didn't you tell us?!" he yelled, half irritated and half excited.

"Yeah, and when did you and Malfoy write it?" said Harry, plopping down beside her.

"The other night at about midnight," she replied. "We, er, we went down to the library." She did not want to tell them that Draco had come into the Gryffindor (hee hee I spelled it right!) common room, she had a feeling that Ron would explode with joy at a chance to get Malfoy expelled.

"Tell you what though," said Hermione excitedly. " I think we can expect a few apologies today. Look, whoever wrote the article about the letter even put in how shocked and outraged the Minister for Magic and the owner of the Daily Prophet are! I think she might be sacked as a reporter!"

"Let us pray for that!" laughed Ron.

Sure enough, as class progressed throughout the day, one by one almost all the students who had teased them came up and said sorry. "I don't know what came over me," Justin Finch-Fletchly said. "I had everything wrong." Susan and Hannah nodded with him.

"Glad you finally noticed," said Victoria nastily. "I mean, what are you, blind? I'm only fifteen for goodness sake! And do really think that Hermione would say those things about Harry? Please, get with it Justin!"

"Um, Vic, that was very unlike you," said Harry.

"Can you blame me?" she replied, rounding on him. "I am so sick of being teased about this kind of stuff, it's never happened before. I mean, what do you think I am, Little Miss Perfect? I'm tired of that, I want to have some fun for a change!" And with that, she stormed off.

"Geez, what's with her?" said Ron, puzzled.

"Dunno," said Harry. "Come on, we'd better get to class. Divination first, darn it!"

* * *

Victoria walked quickly at first then she slowed down. What had just come over her? That was not like her at all. But then, maybe it was. After all, when she had come to Hogwarts she had sworn to make a fresh start. So she had developed a reputation of being Miss Absolutely Perfect In Every Way. She thought that she had changed. But then, she supposed that you could not really change a naturally bad temper. But no! She must not let it get her in trouble again! Calming down, she put on her brightest smile and climbed the ladder to the Divination classroom.

* * *

Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy was having the time of his life. People had been crawling up to him, one by one, and apologizing over and over again. And he was far from gracious about it. When Pansy and Blaise came up to him and simpered, "Oh Draco, we're so sorry about all those mean things we said to you," all he said back was, "What did you do to yourselves, drink some of that antidote for temporary blindness that we made in potions yesterday? Or did you suddenly wake up this morning and decide to actually use your brains for the first time ever? Get out of my sight you two, and get a life!" They had walked off, sobbing. Draco smirked to himself. When people said that Draco Malfoy was a lady-killer, they were not being metaphorical. Besides, he knew that they were just trying to hit on him again.

Well, there is chapter 12 finished. Not many more to go now! And I would just like to give Kelvin a lot of credit since he wrote the first part of this chapter. You're a legend! Gosh, I have to decide when to finish this story, in two chapters I think. So, please review for me!


	13. Divination Disaster

Hello people! Okay, we're _definitely_ getting near the end of this fic now (a lot of you will probably shout hooray, lol)! Hmmmmmm…what has Victoria done in her past that has forced her to make a fresh start? Why is she so bad-tempered all of a sudden? Well, read and you will find out!

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Divination Disaster

The Gryffindors had Divination with the Slytherins that day, and the class was dragging on as usual. Draco was sitting with the Slytherins again since they had welcomed him back into their community. And, as she did almost every Divination lesson, Professor Trelawny was Predicting Harry's death.

"Ah Harry," she said in her misty, far-away voice. "it is coming my dear, coming ever closer, you must be careful Harry, and accept it when it come, you do not have long…"

All the while, Harry was looking very uncomfortable, Ron was trying not to laugh, and Victoria was drumming her fingers on the desk impatiently. This caused Professor Trelawny to stop her dismal prediction. "If you don't mind Miss Dreanadia," said Trelawny with a warning undertone in her voice, "I am trying to make a very serious prediction, and your finger-drumming is clouding my inner eye. So I would very much appreciate it if you would stop fidgeting and pay attention."

"If you don't mind Professor Trelawny," answered Victoria, "all this smoke and heat is clouding my ability to concentrate. Do you think you could open the windows since the only point of those toxic fumes is to add a fake atmosphere of mystery to this room, which doesn't work but simply makes us fall asleep?" Ron and Harry snorted, Parvati and Lavender glared, and the rest of the class stared.

"Well Miss Dreanadia," said Trelawny, a tad irately, "I do not want you to leave my class, for you have potential in this subject. But maybe you should try to think outside the Mundane and work out the real reason that this room is the way it is."

"I already have," Victoria muttered to Ron and Harry. "It's to make her smell nice, what with all this heat up here, I bet she had dreadful B.O."

Harry and Ron turned their laughter in to sneezes and coughs.

"As I was saying Harry dear," continued Professor Trelawny, "the end is coming for you, you must be prepared…"

Even some of the Slytherins were starting to roll their eyes now, until Victoria jumped up and yelled, "Oh, for goodness sake Professor! Can't you give Harry a break? You've predicted his death enough lately, surely he gets the message now!"

"She's doing a Hermione," whispered Ron to Harry.

"Miss Dreanadia, if you please," yelled Professor Trelawny. "I am doing Harry a favour by preparing him for the worst…"

"No you're not, you're just boring him!" yelled Victoria. "And get with it Professor Trelawny, we all know you've only made two real predictions in your life!"

"Victoria!" yelled Parvati and Lavender.  
"Oh shuttup you two!" Victoria shouted. "Can't you see she's a fraud?"

"MISS DREANADIA! THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH!!!" thundered Trelawny. "I want you to leave this class, NOW!"

"Nobody tells me to leave anywhere, I QUIT!" shouted Victoria, and grabbing her books, she followed Hermione's example, and kicked open the trapdoor and left the class.

There was a stunned silence. Draco smirked to himself. That was his girlfriend out there, and he was very proud. "Trelawny certainly had that coming to her, the old bat," he thought, and grinned.

Meanwhile, Victoria was running very fast towards the library, not the common room, which was the first place that people would look for her. She planned to go to the back of the library and hide there until Divination and lunch was over. When she got there, she just fell to the floor and cried silently. "What have I done?" she whispered to herself. "I did it again, and to a teacher too! Oh, a curse on this temper of mine, what will Dumbledore say? It'll be just like last time…" and with that she sobbed some more.

Draco found her there two hours later. Her face was tear streaked and her eyes were swollen. She looked terrible. "Oh gosh, Vic, what's wrong?" he said softly, helping her up and kissing her on the cheek. "You're not upset about Divination are you? 'Cause I tell you what, we've all been longing to do that to that old bat ever since Granger…"

"Yes I'm upset about that, duh!" snapped Victoria. Draco was stunned and slightly hurt. Was this his Victoria speaking? Victoria saw this and immediately said, "Oh Draco, I'm so sorry I said that, I didn't mean it, you know me, I'd never do anything to hurt you."

"I know, I know," he said, giving her a hug. "It's okay, seriously. But Victoria, this isn't like you! I think there's something more to it. Now will you please tell me what's wrong?"

Victoria took a deep breath. "Draco, I haven't been completely honest with you, or with anyone at Hogwarts since I came here."

"Go on," said Draco apprehensively.

"Well, you know how I was supposed to have come to England on a job promotion from my father?"

"Yes," said Draco slowly.  
"Well, that's only half true. You see, I…I was asked to leave my old school."

"You?!" gasped Draco.

"Yes," she continued. "I wasn't expelled; the headmistress there was very forgiving, a bit like Dumbledore actually."

"But…why?" said Draco.

"Because…I was rude to a lot of people, including her. I wasn't very popular there because I was so mean all the time. I really couldn't help it, everything that popped out of my mouth came out nasty. So, eventually the headmistress called me to her, and asked if I wanted to leave, and I said yes. Then after I left, my family didn't know what to do, but mercifully Dad got this job offer, and so here I am. Dumbledore knows about it, but you're the first person I've told."

"Ah," was all Draco could manage to utter. But he could sense that Victoria was keeping something from him. "Are you sure there's nothing else you'd like to tell me?" he asked.

"No," she answered, "there's nothing else." But Draco noticed that she did not quite meet his eyes when she said this. "Please don't tell anyone Draco, especially not Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I was supposed to make a fresh start here, but it seems that I've nearly blown it again."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, I promise," Draco said.

She kissed him and said, "Thankyou, I know I can trust you."

"You mean more to me than anything in the world," he answered. "I'll always be there for you, no matter what." And with that he pulled her to her feet and helped her to the door. "Come on," he said, "lunch is almost over, we'd better get our books. Herbology next."

"Yeah," sniffed Victoria, and smiled. "Well, at least it's not Potions."

"Ha ha ha, very funny," said Draco sarcastically, but nicely. But he could not help but wonder, was there something Victoria was keeping from him? It seemed like there was, but he would not press her for answers, she was distraught enough as it was. He would simply have to wait and see. There were only ten days left until the end of the school year anyway, they had done their O.W.Ls, and basically everything was over. Maybe she would tell him before then. He hoped she would.

Well, that's chapter 13 done, there will probably be only one more chapter until the story ends. And there definitely will be a sequel, and I might make it into a trilogy, if I have time that is. Will Victoria tell Draco her other secret? Or maybe there isn't one? Well anyway, the next chapter will be up soon, so PLEASE review for me! 


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